On the London Conference

Published:Sotstal-Demokrat, No. 40, March 29, 1915.

      Published according to the text inSotstal-Demokrat.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      Progress Publishers,[197[4]],

      Moscow,Volume 21,

      pages178-180.Translated:Transcription\Markup:D. WaltersandR. CymbalaPublic Domain:Lenin Internet Archive

      2003

      (2005).You may freely copy, distribute,
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Thedeclaration by Comrade Maximovich, representative of the
      R.S.D.L.P,’s Central Committee, which we are publishing here, fully
      expresses our Party’s views on this Conference. The French bourgeois
      press has excellently revealed its significance as an expedient or a
      stratagem of the Anglo-French bourgeoisie. The roles have been distributed
      as follows:Le TempsandL’Echo de
Paris[1]have attacked the
      French socialists for their allegedly excessive concessions to
      internationalism. These attacks have been merely a stratagem designed to
      pave the way for Premier Viviani’s well-known declaration in the
      Chamber, which was marked by an aggressive patriotism. On the other hand,Journal des
Débats[2]laid the cards on the table by stating that the
      whole point was in getting the British socialists, under Keir Hardie, who
      had hitherto been opposed to the war and to conscription, to vote, at the
      Conference, for the war to be prosecuted until victory is won over
      Germany. This is tangible and important as the political outcome of the
      British and French socialists having been won over to the side of the
      Anglo-French bourgeoisie. As for the phrases on internationalism, socialism,
      a referendum, etc., these aremerelyphrases, idle words of no
      significance whatever.

Nodoubt, the clever reactionaries of the French bourgeoisie have blurted
    out the real truth. The war is being conducted by the Anglo-French
    bourgeoisie, plus their Russian counterpart, with the aim of ravaging and
    plundering Germany, Austria and Turkey. It stands in need of recruiting
    officers, as well as of socialist consent to fight on until victory over
    Germany is won. The rest is idle and shamefulphrase-mongering, which
    prostitutes such great words as socialism, internationalism, etc. To follow
    the bourgeoisie and help it plunder other countries in deed, and to regale
    the masses with hypocritical recognition of “socialism and the
    International” in word-such is opportunism’s cardinal sin and
    the main reason why the Second International has collapsed.

Thetask confronting the opponents of social-chauvinism at the London
    Conference was therefore clear: in the name of clear-cut anti-chauvinist
    principles, they had to walk out from the Conference,withoutat
    the same timefalling intoGermanophilism, since, for no other
    motive but chauvinism, the pro-Germans are decidedly opposed to the London
    Conference. Comrade Maximovich accomplished that task when he spoke in
    definite terms of thetreachery of the German socialists.

TheBundists and the adherents of the Organising Committee are unable to
    grasp this simple and obvious fact. The former are Germanophiles, in the way
    Kosovsky is,who frankly justifiesthe German
    Social-Democrats’ vote for war credits (seeInformation Bulletin
    ofthe Bund No. 7, January 1915, p. 7, beginning of § 5); The editors
    of the bulletin made no mention of their disagreeing with Kosovsky, although
    they did emphasise that they were in disagreement with Borisov, that
    champion of Russian patriotism. The Manifesto of the Bund’s Central
    Committee (ibid., p. 3) does not contain a single explicit word against
    social-chauvinism.

TheOrganising Committee’s supporters want a reconciliation between
    the Germanophile and the Francophile brands of chauvinism as can be seen
    from Axelrod’s statements (Gobs Nos. 86 and 87 and from the first
    issue ofIzvestia ofthe Organising Committee’s secretariat
    abroad.[3]Feb. 22, 1915). When the editors ofNashe
    Shovoproposed that we take joint action against “official
    social-chauvinism”, we repliedoutrightthat the Organising
    Committee and the Bund had themselves sided with official
    social-patriotism. In our reply we enclosed our draft declaration and
    referred to Comrade Maximovich’s decisive vote.

WhyisNashe Sbovotrying to deceive itself and othersin
	failing to mentionthis in its editorial of No. 32? Why isit silent about our declaration having also spoken of the

      German Social-Democrats’treachery?TheNashe
      Slovodeclarationomittedthis most important and
      fundamental point: neither we nor Comrade Maximovich adopted that
      declaration, or could have done so. That was why joint action by the
      Organising Committee and ourselves didnotresult. Why, then, isNashe Slovodeceiving itself and others in asserting that a basis
      exists for unity of action?

“Officialsocial-patriotism” is the main evil in present day
    socialism. To combat that evil (and not to become reconciled to it, or to
    declare a mutual international “amnesty” on this point), all
    forces must be prepared and mustered. Kautsky and others have produced a
    clear-cut programme for an “amnesty” and a peace with
    social-chauvinism. We have tried to give a clear-cut programme for the
    struggle against it: see, in particular, No. 33 ofSotsial-Demokrat,and the resolutions published therein. It remains
    for us to express the wish thatNashe Slovogo over to something
    more definite than vacillation between “platonic sympathy with
    internationalism”, and peace with social-chauvinism.

[1]L’Echode Paris—an extremely reactionary bourgeois
    daily, published in Paris from 1884 to 1938.

LeTemps—a bourgeois daily, published in
    Paris from 1861 to 1942. Lenin is referring to the two articles on the
    London Conference, published in this newspaper on February 15 and 10,
    1915.

[2]Journaldes Débats politiques et littéraires—a bourgeois weekly
    published in Paris from 1894 to 1934, Lenin is referring to the article
      “The London Conference of Socialists” published in its issue
    of February 19, 1915.

[3]Izvestiaof the Secretariat Abroadof the O.C. R.S.D.L,P. was
    published in Switzerland by the Menshevik Organising Committee from February
    1915 to March 1917.